Forever Isn't Always
by BrittanaisLyfe
Summary: Quinn felt an array of emotions pass through her as she walked in the direction that another teacher pointed her. She hadn't seen or heard from Rachel in over five years. It seemed as though she was on her way to meet a ghost. She might as well have been anyway.
1. Chapter 1

"Beth come down, breakfast is ready." The blonde moved on auto pilot as she simutaniously read the newspaper, sipped on her coffee and placed her daughter's favorite breakfast food on the kitchen table.

She was looking in the classified section. For the past several months Beth had been begging her to get a dog, something that Quinn, herself, didn't want at all. But for her daughter she would bite the bullet and make that sacrafice. She and Beth made a deal, that if the five year old could keep her room clean for a month straight without Quinn having to tell her to do so, then she could get the animal.

Beth had held up her end of the deal, now it was Quinn's turn. She took another long sip of her coffee and plopped down opposite of the chair she knew her daughter would sit in. She couldn't believe she was actually going to get Beth a dog. Most of her hated the idea of cleaning up after an animal, but a small part of her couldn't get over the fact of how happy it would make her babygirl. And that was all that really mattered to the blonde in the end anyway.

"Mom, I think I'm sick." Quinn peered over her newspaper with her coffee cup to her lips. She arched an unamsed eyebrow and shook her head. "I don't think I'll be able to make it today."

She couldn't quite shake the smile that formed on her face at seeing overdramatic brunette walk down the stairs. She had one hand on the rail and one hand on her stomach. "And what's wrong with mommy's big girl?" The five year old kept her hand on her stomach as she dragged her footsie covered feet across the floor, and burried her face in her mother's side.

"I have a tummy ache." Quinn rolled her eyes and took another sip of her coffee. She knew what this was about.

"A tummy ache? Huh?" Beth was silent as she nodded her head yes into Quinn's side. "But I made you strawberry pancakes, and you have yogurt and grapes too." The blonde said as she continued to scan over the many ads. She didn't think she'd find her daughter a puppy in the newspaper.

The small brunette's head popped up and she shrugged her shoulders. "I think I can still eat all of my breakfast though."

Quinn turned to face her daughter and Beth's shoulders immediately dropped. She knew that look. "Your tummy doesn't really hurt, does it?" Beth dropped her head and shook it from left to right. "So, why would you tell me that Beth?"

The five year old only shrugged her shoulders, refusing to make eye contact with her mom. Quinn let out a sigh and placed the newspaper and coffee mug on the table before she scooped her daughter into her arms. "Is this about your first day of school, today?"

The brunette wraps her arms around Quinn's neck and nods her head. "I don't wanna go to school."

"But you have to..."

"But why mommy?"

"Because, you won't be able to take care of mommy if you don't have a college degree one day, and I'm counting on you kid." Quinn looked at her pointedly.

"Can't I just stay home? Or go to Auntie Britt's house?"

"Um, no. As much as Auntie Britt loves babysitting you, she wants you to start school just as bad."

"But Auntie Tana told me that school is where I'll probably have my first kiss... by a boy." Beth looked deep into her mother's eyes. "I don't want to be kissed."

Quinn gritted her teeth and made a mental note to go kill Santana after she dropped Beth off. "Beth, honey, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do." Beth looked at her mother with hopeful eyes. "Except..." Quinn said fixing her mistake. "Go to school, because you are going to school kiddo, and that's final." Beth looked at her mom through an unamused expression and hopped off of her lap to walk around the table to claim her seat. "Eat up, you have to be to school in an hour."

Beth grumbled something incoherently and began eating her breakfast without putting up much a fight after her mother's final words. Quinn quickly typed out a short text to Santana telling her that she'd be over later to dismember her body and burry the remains.

"What are you looking at?" Beth asked with a mouth full of pancakes. "You never read the newspaper." The blonde quickly closes the newspaper, not wanting her daughter to know what she was up to quite yet and brought her coffee mug up to her lips in an attempt to stall for an answer.

"I was looking in the classified section." It was kind of a gamble for her to say that. Though, beth was five she was pretty intelligent. The small girl never ceased to amaze Quinn with the knowledge she had at such an early age. She was just praying that Beth didn't know what the classified section was and hoped even harder that the brunette didn't ask for enlightenment.

The blonde eyed her daughter cautiously. But Beth only shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat. Quinn let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding before letting head fall onto her hand and watched her daughter with adoration.

This was a bittersweet moment for her. Today marked the first day that her little girl would start school. School, already. It seemed like just yestereday the brunette was taking her first steps or saying her first words. Beth was growing up too fast.

Quinn had to wipe at her eyes to stop unshed tears from falling. She didn't need Beth to see her cry. That would make the little girl not want to go to school that much more. But, if Quinn was being honest with herself. She wasn't so sure if she was ready to send her baby off just yet... but she knew she had to.

The blonde shook her head before clearing her throat and getting up from the table. "How do you want to wear your hair for your first day of kindergarden?" Beth shuffled all of the food in her mouth to her left cheek so that she could speak.

"Um, can I just wear it down today?"

"Mhm." Quinn hummed. "I'll put a hair tie in your backpack just in case." She knew her daughter would get tired of her long hair and would want it tamed halfway through the day. But in her daughter's defense, she did have really long thick hair. It was a few inches past her butt.

"Thanks mom." Beth had gotten up from the table and was now standing next to Quinn with her dishes in her hand, holding them up for Quinn to take. "That was delicious." She smiled as her mother took her plate.

The blonde smiled at her daughter and leaned down. "Can I get a kiss." Beth answered by pecking Quinn on the cheek before taking a few steps back. "Alright, kiddo go up stairs and start getting ready. Today is going to be a big day."

Beth seemed a little less apprehensive about going to school than she was before. That eased Quinn's nerves a little. She just had to keep reminding herself to stay strong throughout the day and hopefully she wouldn't break down in tears.

XXXXXXXX

Quinn pulled into the driveway of the familiar two story house and Beth immediately unbuckled her seatbelt. She was out of the car before Quinn could even kill the engine. She laughed a little as her daughter ran up to the front door and didn't bother to knock. She just swung it open and ran right in. The blonde shook her head as she gathered her things and stepped out of the car.

It was cold outside. New York winters were really no joke. She wrapped her arms around herself before quickly shuffling inside the house and closing the door behind her.

"Hey aunt Quinn!" Two arms were wrapped around her before she could see who the voice had come from. But she'd known it was her ten year old nephew, Jonah. She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around him in return.

"Wow, is it me or are you getting taller?"

Jonah smiled and stepped away from his aunt. "You say that every time you see me."

"Yea, that's because every time I see you, you've grown a little more." She smiled at the blue eyed boy. "And I think your eyes have gotten a little more blue." He smiled proudly back at her before taking her hand and leading her further into the house.

Quinn stared at the back of his head. His jet black hair had been spiked and styled for his first day of fifth grade. Even Jonah was growing up too fast. It was literally just yesterday when she was at her sister's house to see him off for his first day of kindergarden. Now look at him. He's damn near in middle school.

"Lucifer, what a suprise." Quinn couldn't help but roll her eyes as Jonah lead her into the kitchen to wear his mother was. Santana was washing the dishes as baby Cameron sat in his highchair playing with cheerios.

"Satan." Quinn replies shortly. She let go of Jonah's hand to walk over and greet Cameron. The baby only laughed and wiggled, growing more excited at the sight of the blonde walking towards him. "Hi, little one." Quinn cooed. She carefully took his highchair top off so that she could scoop him into her arms. He smiled and babbled on about only things that he could understand. "How did something like you manage to make two perfect kids?" Quinn playfully teased. Jonah had walked out of the kitchen to see where Beth had run off to.

"I got skills." Santana boasted as she placed another dish into the dishwasher. "Plus, I had Brittany's help." She paused for a moment to look up at Quinn with a devious smile. "If you know what I mean?"

Quinn's facial expression contorted into one of discgust as she looked at her sister-in-law. "Ew, it's literally too early in the morning for that."

"Well, you asked." Santana shrugged. "Anyways... how are you feeling about Beth's first day of school?"

The blonde shifted Cameron and took a seat at the kitchen island. "I don't know... San, I don't think I want her to go anymore. My baby is growing up too fast."

"That's life kid..." Quinn waited for Santana to say something a little more uplifting but that was all the advice the brunette had.

"Yea... you're definitely not the person I should be talking to right now. Where's my sister?"

"She is... um... upstairs she was still sleeping, but I'm pretty sure Beth has gotten to her by now." Santana said as she closed the dishwasher and turned it on. Quinn watches as she washed her hands and walked over to the island.

"Oh, and Beth told me what you said to her." Quinn said with narrowed eyes. Santana only smirks and shakes her head.

"Yea, I got your death threat." Santana said carelessly.

"You probably shouldn't take that so lightly."

Santana only laughed and shook her head. She had her eyes set on her son and wasn't really paying Quinn any attention. "Yea, yea go talk to your sister... and give me my baby." She said as she held her arms out to take the seven month old away from Quinn.

"No, wait I'm here." Came Brittany's groggy voice from the entrance to the kitchen.

Quinn only smiled at the sight of her sister. Beth had her by the hand excitedly tugging on her arm. Jonah had walked in from behind the two and took a seat at the island next to Quinn.

"Hi Quinn." She said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hey, Britt. What's with you? Usually, you're the first one awake. What's the deal this morning?"

Brittany only smiles a lazy smile before glancing at her wife and then back to her sister. Quinn chances a glance at Santana, who smirks at her, and then back to her sister. It took a moment before everything clicked. "Okay, ew. Never mind, I'm sorry I asked."

"I don't get it. Why are you tired?" Beth asked curiously.

"So! Everybody ready to go to school?" Santana was quick to ask.

"Yes!" Jonah cheered. "It's my last year of elementary school. I'm so ready!" Brittany smiled at her son and turned her attention towards Beth.

"And what about you Princess? Are you ready for your big day?" Beth shuffled a little and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know... I think I am."

Quinn could feel the tears coming on. She didn't want to send her daughter to school anymore, and maybe if Beth had said 'no' she probably wouldn't have. But her answer was pretty much a yes, and that hurt Quinn more than it should have. Her baby was ready to leave the nest. Her baby wasn't a baby anymore.

"That's the spirit." Santana said rocking Cameron in her arms. "You're going to have an amazing first day. You'll make a lot of new friends, your teachers are going to love you, and you'll do well on all the academics."

Beth smiled and nodded her head. "I want to make new friends."

"Good, and you will. You can even come over after school and tell us all about the new people you met."

Beth looked over to her mother with hopeful eyes silently asking her if she could. "Yep, I'll get us all ice cream and we'll come back here after I pick you up from school." Beth and Jonah cheered after hearing that news. "Jay are you riding home with me, or did you want to catch the bus."

"I'm going with you Aunt Quinn."

"Alright, then I guess it's settled." Quinn smiled at the two children.

"So, they literally have fifteen minutes before they're late... We should probably be on our way." Santana suggested.

Quinn slumped in her stool as she begrudingly nodded her head in agreement. "Alright everyone into the car." The blonde said lacking the excitment that she was trying to portray.

"Give me my snuggle bunny, we're going back to sleep." Brittany said as she walked over to her wife to grab their child. She placed a chaste kiss on Santana's cheek before turning to place a kiss on Jonah's forehead and then one on Beth's forehead. "Have a good day at school."

"See you later Auntie Britt."

"Later mom!"

Jonah and Beth ran to the front door as Quinn and Santana collected themeselves and Brittany went back up the stairs.

"I don't want her to go." Quinn mumbled only loud enough for Santana to hear.

"Don't be a pussy Fabray, toughen up." She mumbled back as she threw on her coat. "And are you still going to get Beth the _thing _today?" Quinn only nodded her head. That was the plan, to have a brand new fluffy puppy waiting for her daughter when she arrived from school. But she still didn't have any luck with finding a good breeder. "Have you found one yet?"

"No." They were growing nearer to the two children who were standing in front of the door talking about God knows what.

Santana flashed her a disapproving look. "After we drop them off we'll stop by a few shelters." Quinn nodded as they walked up to the door and openned it for the kids to go to the car. "And for the love of humanity, please do not make a scene Fabray."

XXXXXXXXX

"Oh my god. What did I tell you." Santana chastised as she watched Quinn kneel on the ground and engulf her daughter in a hug. She didn't miss the way the blonde's shoulders were lightly bobbing up and down either. "Dios mio." Santana mumbled as she shook her head.

Jonah stood beside his mom waiting akwardly for his cousin to be released from his aunt's death grip. "Jonah, you see that? You're aunt is a maniac."

"Be quiet Santana." Quinn threw over her shoulder. Quinn pulled back and held Beth at an arm's distance. "My baby." Quinn started before she felt another wave of tears come on. She had to pull her back in for another hug. Beth only stood there helplessly, and to make matters worse all of this was happening in front of the school house.

"Alright, Quinn wrap it up. They have to get to class." Quinn nodded before holding Beth back out an arm's length.

She studied her daughter's slightly distress features. Her big brown eyes were flashed a little of confusion and distress. Quinn figured she was probably making her daughter even more nervous about everything. She quickly swiped away the tears and offered her a watery smile. "Alright baby, have a good day at school."

Beth looked at her mom for a moment before quickly engulfing her into another hug. "I'll be okay mom. I promise." She said before placed a peck on Quinn's cheek and turned to walk towards the school.

Jonah was quick to give his mom a kiss, and then his aunt a hug before whispering his condolences and running to catch up with Beth. "Hey, Beth! Wait on me! I'll walk you to your class."

Quinn was still kneeling on the ground as various kids passed by her flashing her odd looks. But her eyes were fixed the two kids that had just left her. They were almost lost in the crowd of kids, but Quinn could still see them. They were laughing and talking. Beth was growing up and there was nothing that she could physically do to stop that.

"Would you get up drama queen?" Somewhere from behind her, she could hear Santana sucking her teeth, and she could only imagine the eyeroll that came with that.

"Shut up Santana... this is a tough time for me."

It wasn't too long after that before she felt two petite hands wrap around her arm and physically lift her up. "Shit, you're heavier than I thought."

"Santana, I should probably go sign her out." Quinn said, ignoring the latina's previous comment.

"So, how about this puppy?" Santana said trying to change the subject as she began walking back to her car.

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows and began to follow her. "Wait did you hear what I said?"

"Yea, and I thought it was a stupid comment so, I went out of my way to ignore it, and changed the subject." She deadpanned.

"You know, I never could see why my sister chose you." Quinn grumbled.

"Me either." Santana said shrugging her shoulder. "It was probably for the sex." Santana said flashing a devious smile at the blonde. "I'm _really _good at that." Quinn grimaced and shook her head.

"Why are you so wildly inappropriate? You have two kids, you're a _mom_!"

"You're just a prude. Besides, I have two boys. They're going to need someone to be wildly inappropriate with someday."

"Poor Jay and Cam. I feel bad... At least they always have my house to escape to when they need it."

"Oh please, Fabray. It'll definitely be Beth who comes to _my _house trying to escape you."

"Whatever." If she wasn't the bigger person, and brushed Santana off, they would have been bickering for the entire day. Quinn just didn't have the energy for that. They had made it back to the car and Quinn didn't she could stand going back and forth with Santana.

"So we'll go to kill shelters first, see if we can save an animal." Quinn nodded as she stepped into the car and strapped on her seatbelt. "Then if we can't find anything then we'll go to a rescue..." Santana's voice faded in Quinn's head. The blonde wasn't paying attention anymore. She was staring out the window with false hope that she might get one more glance of her daughter.

She searched the crowd of students and the occasional teacher, refusing to believe that Beth wasn't in the building yet. Even though she's sure Beth was already inside. She wanted to hop out of the car and go get her baby. Beth's first day of school had never been this big of a deal to Quinn... up until a few hours ago. She hadn't fully prepared herself to see her child walk away from her into the real world.

Quinn had her head leaned against the window with her hand tucked comfortably in between the glass and her face. She was still searching the crowd. But something, no _someone, _very distinct caught her eye. It was a flash of long brown hair. Quinn quickly sat up to try and get a better look.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Santana asked as she threw the car in reverse. Quinn searched the crowd frantically with growing anxiousness. Was that...? "And we'll stop by the firm, I have to pick a few things up from the office."

Quinn saw her again. The flash of brown hair. But that couldn't have been her... that just _couldn't _have. She must have been sadly mistaken.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hello Ms. Fabray... Mrs. Lopez." Quinn's receptionist greeted them as they walked towards the blonde's office.

"Jennifer, what the hell are you doing at work today?" Santana asked and Quinn elbowed her lightly. Santana only flashed her a glare before directing her attention back to Jennifer. "Didn't Quinn, like, give you the day off or something?"

"Um, yes, she did." Jennifer answered from her desk. "Thank you for that." She said, aiming at her boss. "But, I'm here today just to catch up on a few things. I should be out in a couple of hours."

Quinn let out a sigh and shook her head. She really did have the _best _receptionist, but the girl didn't know when to stop working. "No, Jen, go home and relax or go have fun. You have a week off, you can worry about work later... I'll even help you if you get too far behind."

The dark haired woman smiled at the blonde. "But, Ms. Fabray, I couldn't ask you to do that. I-"

"Leave now, or you're fired." Jennifer snapped her mouth shut after hearing Santana utter those words. She didn't dare put up a fight she merely nodded her head and stood from her desk.

Quinn scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Jennifer, you know I wouldn't fire you. Santana is just being the devil that she is."

Jennifer flashed her boss a smile and nodded before she continued to collect her things. "I know... but I probably should be relaxing . You gave me this time off. So I'll take it." She smiled at the two women who were superior to her before grabbing her purse and brushing past them. She pasused before she turned and flashed Quinn another smile. "Tell Beth, that I said hello, and that I hope she had an amazing fist day of school." m

Both Santana and Quinn watched her as she went. "That is a damn good receptionist." Santana commented.

Quinn scrunched her eyebrows at the brunette. "I thought you hated Jen?"

"Uh no. Just jealous that you have a better receptionist than I do... want to trade?"

"Um no. You can keep Liza... And would you mind telling me why we're here?... At my office?"

"Oh yea." Santana said as if she had suddenly remembered where they were. "I left you a few ads. They're on your top shelf. I didn't want Beth to come in here and see them." Santana explained as she walked into Quinn's office and grabbed the papers. "I didn't know what kind of dog you wanted to get her, so I just printed out a bunch of ads on a bunch of different dogs."

Santana handed the ads over to Quinn and the blonde began sifting through them. "Oh wow, you did a lot of research."

"Well I knew you would be rather ill prepared seeing as though you don't know the first thing about dogs or reputable breeders or adopting... I just want to make sure we get the dog from the right place."

Quinn looked up at Santana without lifting her head from facing the papers. "We?"

"Yea, you don't think Brittany is going to let you adopt a dog without it being at our house everyday do you?"

"Why don't you guys just get a dog then?"

"Because we want to wait until Cam is a little older." Quinn only nodded and continued to sift through the papers.

"So, it looks like you've done all the research. I can just chose a puppy from one of these ads instead of us shelter hopping."

"Yea, that would save us some time." Santana agreed.

Quinn kept sifting throuhg the papers. Beth had mention something about wanting a big fluffy dog. So that's what Quinn was going by... maybe not so much on the big part, but she definitely didn't loath the idea of having a fluffy dog. They were always so cute to look at whenever she saw them.

Santana had mostly printed out ads for dogs she didn't even know existed. Quinn was thankful that there were pictures of the dogs up for adoption. She separated the all of the cute and fluffy ones and gave the rest of the stack back to Santana.

She'd narrowed her choices down to three puppies. Two of which were poodles and the last puppy was a Bichon Frise... Whatever that was. They all kind of looked the same.

"You should get her one of the poodles... they come in colors other than white. I hear white dogs are really hard to keep clean." Quinn nodded in agreement. That only made sense. But, she would probably take the ads to her daughter and let Beth choose from the three puppies.

"I don't think I'll be able to pick for her... I should probably give her these three ads and let her tell me. I don't want to get the wrong dog."

"Yea right. You just don't want to do any work... But, that's always a good idea. that way you'll know for sure it's the dog that she wants."

The rest of the day had gone by rather slowly for the blonde. She and Santana bought ice cream and took it back to the Lopez residence. She listened to Brittany talk about work and played with Cameron while Santana cooked dinner.

Quinn couldn't wait to go pick her daughter up from school. She was so excited to present Beth with the three pieces of paper she had in her purse. So when the time did come for her and Brittany to go pick up the two kids she nearly got herself a speeding ticket.

When they pulled up to the school kids were already waiting outside for their rides. Quinn wasn't even sure she put the car in park before she hopped out to find her little one. It didn't take long before mother and daughter spotted each other and Beth went sprinting towards Quinn. Jonah was right behind her. He passed the two to walk to his own mother to tell her about how good his day went.

"Mom! I had so much fun." Beth laughed as her Quinn picked her up and held her in a tight embrace.

"You did that's wonderful sweety."

"I have a lot of cool new friends." Beth pulled back far enough so that she could look at her mom while she talked.

Quinn smiled at her and noticed how excited her daughter was. "You do? Are you going to tell me all about them over dinner tonight?"

"Yes... and I have something else to tell you too." Beth's eyes lit up and she grew more excited.

"Well, I have something to tell you too." Quinn said smiling because she knew she was just about to add the icing on the cake that was her daughter's amazing day.

"Okay, you first mommy."

"Alright.." Quinn said walking around the car and putting Beth in the back seat before going to the front seat and plopping down on the driver's side. She reached in her purse and pulled out the three folded up pieces of paper and handed them to her daughter. "Read it and weep kid."

Beth's eyes nearly buldged out of her head when she saw the picture of the puppies. "Oh my god." She said lowly, and both Brittnay and Quinn laughed. Even Jonah was staring at the paper in amazement. "Are these my puppies?"

"Well, not quite. You have to choose which one you want to be your puppy."

"I want them all." Beth said smiling widely at the papers. Quinn shook her head.

"Only one Beth... and make sure you thank Auntie Tana for finding them for you."

"I will, mom."

Beth and Jonah were both lost in the ads and looking at pictures of the puppies when Quinn remembered that Beth wanted to tell her something. "Hey Beth, what were you going to tell me?" Quinn asked as she put on her seatbelt.

"Oh yea... It was just that I have a really cool teacher in my music class... She's been on TV before... and she played a disney princess too."

Quinn and Brittany both shared confused looks before turning around to face the two children in the back seat.

"It's true, I met her." Jonah said.

"Oh really? What's her name?" Brittany asked.

"Ms. Berry." Beth answered.

Quinn could literally feel all of the blood drain from her face, and she definitely didn't miss the way Brittany stared at her with an equally shocked expression.

XXXXXXXXXX

Quinn felt an array emotions pass through her as she walked in the direction that another teacher pointed her. She hadn't seen or heard from Rachel in five years. It seemed as though she was on her way to meet a ghost. She might as well have been anyway.

The blonde felt a little naseous. She was on her way to see Rachel Berry, the woman that left all those years ago. Sure she was angry, frustrated and confused, but Quinn's nerves was outweighing all of her other emotions. She made her way to the door at the end of the hall on wobly legs.

Some part of this felt like a dream to her... a really sick dream. One that she knew for a fact that she didn't want to explore, but she needed to make things clear... For Beth's sake.

When the blonde stopped short, just in front of the Ms. Berry's classroom door, the brunette was sitting at her desk typing away on her computer. She hadn't even realized that there was an intruder.

Quinn sucked in her lips and glanced away from the woman. It was really Rachel. She hated the small part of herself that felt relief that she finally got to see her again after so long. She didn't know if she wanted to walk up to Rachel and hug her or slap her and walk back out. Either way, Quinn had to do something. "Ahem." She made her presence known.

Rachel flinched from the unexpected sound, and then flinched at the very unexpected visitor that was standing in her classroom doorway. She looked surprised to say the least.

This was akward. Quinn shifted from one foot to the other. "I thought that I would come here and realize that I'd made a mistake. That it wasn't really you, the Ms. Berry that Beth told me about, but another Ms. Berry." Quinn started off not sure exactly where she was going with this. "But, here you are." Quinn said not trying to fake any happy emotions. Sure she was relieved to know that the brunette was actually alive and not dead, but she couldn't say that she was at all happy to see her.

"Quinn..." Rachel tried to start softly, but was quickly halted by the blonde holding up her hand, signaling that she didn't want to hear anything she had to say.

"Rachel, save it. I came here to make sure that it was you who my daughter told me about." Rachel flinched a little but didn't dare interrupt. "And to make a few things clear." Rachel dry swallowed and prepared herself for the worst.

"First, you don't get to come back after five years and try to make yourself known... _Especially _not to my daughter. Second, let this be the last time I hear about you from her. And third, just stay away from us."

Rachel sighed and flashed Quinn a very apollogetic look. "Quinn, I'm so deeply sorry for ever-"

"Again, save it. I don't really care. I just came here to let you know that you need to stay away from Beth."

"Quinn I understand that we don't have the best history..." The blonde scoffed because that was an understatement. "But, what you're asking of me is a little unfair."

"Unfair?" Quinn asked with raised eyebrows. "Did you just say unfair? You don't want to get me started on that little topic." Rachel glanced at the floor knowing she really had no say in anything. That she was to blame here. She put herself in the predicament.

"Quinn, please!" If she had to strip herself of her dignity and revert to begging then so be it. She wasn't above it especially when it came to the blonde or the small brunette. "I know I messed up, I know that all of this is my fault. But, you have to let me-"

"No, that's where you're wrong. I don't have to _let _you do anything... And I'll be removing Beth from your class in the morning."

Rachel felt herself panic, her palms grew sweaty and she grew more antsy. Quinn couldn't do this to her... Well, she could, but that would destroy Rachel. "What, why? She's made it very clear that she loves my class."

"I don't care. She doesn't need to be around you." Quinn was fed up with this conversation already, and she couldn't take seeing Rachel for much longer. It made her feel sick to her stomach to know the woman she once loved was standing five feet away from her. The blonde needed to get out. She had said what she needed to say, now she could leave.

When Rachel saw Quinn turning to leave, she panicked. She said the only thing that would get the blonde to falter to stop her from walking away. "But, she's my daughter too." Rachel said as she bit down hard on her bottom lip, willing herself not to cry. "Quinn, Beth is my daughter too."

The blonde had already turned her back but she was frozen to her spot. A tiny gasp managed to escape her lungs as all the air was pulled out of her body. The weight of those words were too heavy for her to even try to carry.

"Quinn, I know I haven't been there in the past, and it looks like I don't even have a chance for you to forgive me. But, Beth is my daughter too. She's _our _daughter and I would love to be a part of her life. I know I put myself in this predicament. If it hadn't been for myself, then I wouldn't be asking for permission to be a part of my only daughter's life. " Rachel said softly.

Quinn wanted to scream at her. She didn't get to do this. She didn't get to come back and just reclaim everything she threw away.

"But, if you would just let me. I could make up for all of that lost time with her. I just want her to know me. I know you don't trust me, but let me prove it to you. Let me prove it to her. I'm not going anywhere this time." Rachel finished.

Quinn still had her back turned to the brunette and thankfully so. She definitely didn't want Rachel to see the tears that were silently sliding down her face. Everything Rachel had said, sounded promising, but Quinn knew better. Rachel was paid to act, she got awards for her acting skills. If she let Rachel into Beth's life it'd only be a matter of time before she left again, and she couldn't have that. Not when Beth was now old enough to understand and know who the people in her life were. Quinn would protect her babygirl at any cost.

"She doesn't need you." Was all Quinn threw over her shoulder before exiting the room completely.


	2. Chapter 2

**2009**

The blonde laid on the sofa in the small apartment in Manhattan New York. She could hear her sister's wife and her sister going at like a couple of rabbits in the other room. Quinn turned over and wondered how this became her life. She was still young of course, twenty-three years old to be exact. She still had time to figure things out. But, still she never imagined she would be stuck working as a barista at Starbucks and living on the couch in her older sister's apartment. She felt pathetic.

Her mother and father had always wanted her to be a doctor. But when she told them, that she wanted to become a lawyer instead, they smiled at her proudly and told her that would work too. Now five years later she had her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and no job that she could put that degree to use in until she became a lawyer. She had been trying to get into Law school for about a year now, but that was proving to go nowhere fast. Her LSAT score was the only thing holding her back. She had been taking the test ever since the summer after her junior year of college and it still proved to be a challenge. Quinn was smart she knew she could pass the test. She wasn't sure what her deal was with it.

Her GPA was nearly perfect, she did graduate at the top of her class, and she had already prepared her personal statement with the help of Santana. The one thing that she needed was a good enough score on the LSAT. If she could just get that, then she was sure that law schools would be lining up to get a hold of her.

She turned back over on the couch. Obviously she had miscalculated the amount of space she had to maneuver about, because she was met with the cold hardwood floor resulting in a loud thud. "Ow." She whined as she rubbed her the hip bone that she landed on. She sat up on the floor and she could still hear hear the two in the next room. They clearly showed no signs of stopping any time soon. "Oh, don't worry about me. I'm fine." Quinn said loud enough for the other two to hear. Her voice was full of sarcasm and she couldn't help but roll her eyes when they continued on, without even a pause in their actions. She needed a place of her own. Living with her sister was starting to become tiring. But, Starbucks wasn't paying her enough to move into her own apartment, and she was already in debt from her previous college courses.

The blonde sighed and let her head fall back onto the couch. She needed a 'get rich quick' plan, and stat.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was probably the dumbest and the most genius thing she could think of in order to earn money. Sure, she hadn't really thought any of this through and she was doing it for the most selfish of reasons, but she'd be getting paid for it... She'd be getting paid _a lot _for it.

"A surrogate?" Santana asked for the millionth time just to be sure she heard right.

"Mommy, what's a surrogate?" Jonah asked Brittany as he drove his toy car up her arm.

"A woman who has a baby for someone else." Brittany hurriedly explained to her son before directing a confused expression back towards her sister. "Quinn are you insane?"

"Auntie Quinn, you're going to have a baby?" Jonah asked full of excitement.

Quinn smiled at her five year old nephew and shook her head. "See, why can't you two be that excited about this? And no Jonah, I'm not going to have a baby."

"Because, you're not thinking this through. You only see the money in this, but there are like a million other things that come into play when doing this kind of thing." Santana tried to reason with the blonde. But Quinn had already had her mind made up. She had already been in contact with an agency. She had submitted her application already. They reviewed her health history, insurance policy, and had several face to face meetings with her. She had already gotten the job. She was now patiently waiting for a match.

She wanted to wait until after she got the 'job' before she started telling her family. She knew they wouldn't react so well. "Santana I know this. Everything has been explained to me over a thousand times already."

"Go to your room and watch TV Jay." Brittany said softly to her son. She could see that things were escalating quickly, and she didn't want her son to be around for it. Jonah oblidged without a second thought. "Quinn how long have you been thinking about doing this?"

Quinn bit her bottom lip and stared at everything but her sister. Brittany was no fool, she knew her little sister like the back of her hand. Blue eyes narrowed at the opposing blonde in suspicion. "What did you do? There's something you're not telling us."

Quinn shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lucy..." Brittany said in a low warning tone. Quinn knew she was in trouble if Brittany was calling her by her first name. She knew Brittany would find out one way or the other so she figured she may as well just come 100% clean.

"Alright... I'm not just thinking about doing this... I kind of already did it."

"Ay dios mio." Santana mumbled as she brought her palm to her forehead and closed her eyes. Brittany just stared at her little sister with a disbelieving gaze. "I'm going to kill her." Santana said before looking over to her wife. "I'm going to kill her." The brunette said once again while nodding her head.

"Be my guest." Brittany mumbled.

Quinn scoffed and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Fabray, what happened to law school? You're so close. You already have your Bachelors Degree. I practically wrote your personal statement for you, and I promised you a job at the firm once you graduate. What now? You're just going to throw that all away?"

"No." Quinn was quick to defend herself. "Things just aren't moving at the pace that I'd like them to be. So I'm doing something to help me pay off my loans and get a place of my own... In addition to getting an acceptable score on the LSAT and getting accepted into law school."

"Wouldn't it have made more sense to just, I don't know, get a second job maybe?" Brittany asked.

"And that's exactly what I did." The blonde said brushing everything off. "You guys are reading too deep into this."

"No, you're not reading into it enough." Santana argued. "Okay, let's think about this your way for a minute... So, this is something that's going to get you money fast... and a lot of it. Alright, you just carry someone else's baby for nine months pop the little sucker out and you go on your marry way. You do that twice and you should be good right?" Santana said with raised eyebrows.

"Right." Quinn smiled.

"Wrong." Brittany deadpanned. "All of this is going ot be way easier said than done. You don't even know what you're getting yourself into. Swollen feet, restless nights, back pain and not to mention that cute little physque you have, you can kiss that goodbye."

"And are you even doing this to help women who can't have babies of their own. Or is this just for the money?"

"T-to help..." Quinn tried to say but was overpowered by the other two women.

"Did you even think about complications? What if giving birth messes you up to the point where when you get ready to have your own children you won't be able to?" Santana added.

"And did you know childbirth is one of the most dangerous things that you could possibly do. Quinn what happens if you don't make it out of this thing alive? Will it all be worth it then?" Brittany was staring at her and so was Santana. She felt nervous all of a sudden. She couldn't understand why, everything that they were saying was already said to her before. The agency did a very good job in making sure that they were thorough and answered any questions the blonde had. She knew of everything that could possibly go wrong witht he pregnancy, the risks associated with it and how it would affect her. But she still signed the papers.

So why was she nervous all of a sudden. Maybe it was because she was hearing it from her family members. Maybe she was being just a tad bit ridiculous and impulsive. Maybe she'd made the biggest mistake of her life. She didn't know, but she needed to get out of that apartment. It felt like the walls were closing in on her and Brittany and Santana staring at her with such intense gazes wasn't helping the way she felt.

Quinn dry swallowed and dropped her head. "I'm going to go for a walk." Was all she offered before she booked it to the door. She wanted to leave before they tried to stop her. She was done with this conversation.

XXXXXXXXX

The blonde kicked off her shoes and prayed that everyone was sleeping by now. The apartment was dark and virtually silent. Jonah was most definitely sleeping, it was well past ten and the boy had school in the morning.

Quinn glanced at Brittany and Santana's room door and could see light flickering from the TV at the bottom. She let out a sigh and walked to the hall closet and grabbed her pillow and blanket. She made up the couch extra nice before deciding that she wasn't really all that sleepy. She knew she needed to talk to them about the conclusion she had come up with while on her walk.

She creeped up to their bedroom door and turned her head so that her ear was pressed against the wooden door. She wanted to make sure she didn't walk in and see something that would scar her forever. When she heard nothing but the sound of the TV she figured it was okay to just go in without knocking.

The blonde eased the door open and saw that Santana was reading a book while Brittany laughed about whatever it was that was playing on the television. Both their heads turned when their door opened to see who the intruder was. Quinn wasted no time in walking up to their bedside and hopping over her sister to lay in between the other two women.

Santana closed her book and took off her reading glasses while Brittany put the TV on mute. The two woman looked at Quinn expectantly why the said blonde stared up at the ceiling. "Alright, what's going on?" Brittany asked.

Quinn paused before she answered. "So I had an epiphany... And just hear me out before you go judging me again... So, I'm going to stick with my plan to be a surrogate." Quinn said preparing herself for verbal blows that never came from the other two women. They simply listned just as they were asked to do. "I know you guys probably think I'm young and dumb and just making this decision based off of pure impulse... and honestly at first that's exactly what I was doing. But after our argument, I sat down and I thought about this. Literally, I stayed on that park bench for nearly three hours running over this in my head. I want to do this. Sure I'll get a lot of money for it, but I thought about what I'd be doing. Like what would actually be happening... I'd be giving someone something they would never be able to have on their own." Quinn got butterflies just thinking about it. The realizations one can come to when left to themselves is mindblowing.

She looked from her sister to Santana and back to her sister. "And... I want to do this. I know you may not agree with me, but please it won't be easy and I'll need both of you along the way." Quinn said hopefully.

"Well, that's all we wanted Quinnie... We just needed you to be sure of this." Brittany was the first to speak.

"And that you were doing this for the right reasons." Santana added. "So, you've sold us... We support you... just no more bombs like that anymore. I don't want any gray hairs before I'm eighty." Santana concluded.

"Too late for that." Brittany mumbled and Santana was quick to grab a pillow and throw it at her. "Hey!" Brittany grabbed a pillow from her side and threw it back at her wife. One thing lead to another and before they knew it they were all at war with each other throwing pillows all across the room.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Present**

Quinn watched amused as Beth tried to show her yet another 'trick' that she taught their brand new six month old gray poodle. The five year old laid flat on her room floor and placed the puppy on her stomach.

"Okay mom, now watch this." Beth put her right hand over her chest. "Shadow, lay down." The puppy only sniffed at her right hand. "No, shadow lay down."

Quinn had to keep herself from laughing. "Honey, is there any reason why he's standing on top of you?"

Beth tilted her head back and stared at her mom with a smile. "Yes, he always crawls on me and lays down. So that's how I want to teach him... the way he's most confortable learning." Quinn dropped her smile and nodded her head absentmindedly. Did her five year old daughter just say that? Quinn herself wouldn't have even thought about training him to do things like the way her daughter was.

"Lay down shadow." This time the puppy actually listened, to the blonde's surprise. Her eyebrows shot up and she looked at her daughter who was smiling at her proudly. Quinn didn't think that training a dog at this age was actually doable. But her daughter was doing a damn good job at it thus far. They'd only had the little monster, as Quinn calls him, for about four days and Beth had already gotten him to lie down.

She was also doing well with feeding him and taking him out to go potty and play. To say the blonde was impressed would be an understatement. "Wow, that's pretty cool." Quinn complimented her daughter. "You're really good with him."

The blonde was actually kind of curious to know how Beth knew so much about dogs and training tips. It was Beth who suggested a feeding schedule so that they would know when to take him outside to potty. It was Beth who told Quinn that if he didn't get enough exercise that he would chew her shoes, and it was Beth who came up with a great way of training him. "How do you know so much about dogs?" Quinn asked as she took a seat on the floor next to her daughter who was now rubbing Shadow gently.

"Well, I watch animal planet a lot now. I learn from that." Quinn had noticed there was a lot of animal planet on the TV now. "And my teacher helps me research stuff about animals in the library." Beth shrugged as she turned her puppy over on her stomach and began rubbing his belly.

Quinn eyeballed the dog as on of his hind legs began to kick wildly and he slid of off her daughter's stomach. "Your teacher?" Quinn asked as she still stared at the dog, who was now on the floor as Beth continued to rub his belly.

"Yes, mom... Ms. Berry... I don't think she wanted to help me at first, but I begged her. After I got moved from her class I still wanted to hang out with her. So I asked her to help me find out about dogs. We go to the library now every day at lunch."

Quinn narrowed her eyes. Goddammit Rachel. She'd moved Beth out of the woman's class four days ago. She hadn't heard anything about Ms. Berry until now. She told her to stay away from Beth. "You see that mom." Beth said pointing to the dog's hind legs. "He doesn't even know he's doing it. It's like a scratch reflex when you hit certain spots."

Quinn didn't know that. She liked learning things from her daughter... But still, she had to adress the Ms. Berry situation. "So you like Ms. Berry huh?" Quinn asked casually.

"Uhuh... She's so cool. She told me about California yesterday, and she showed me a picture of her in front of the Hollywood sign too."

"Oh, neat. What else did she tell you about?" Was it wrong for Quinn to feel bad? She felt like she was somehow taking advantage of her five year old daughter by getting this information from her so that she could use it against Rachel later.

Beth shrugged. "She doesn't really say much unless it's about the dogs. Most of the time I just ask her questions to try and get her to talk to me. She tells all the other kids in her class stories... I just want to know what it's like to be in movies." Quinn felt guilt wash over her again. Not only was she keeping Beth from being in a class that she wanted to be in, but she was essentially keeping Beth from her other mother. Of course the five year old didn't know that but Quinn knew and she felt horrible.

But still, she couldn't let Rachel get to her baby. "Maybe being in movies wasn't so fun. Maybe that's why she doesn't tell those stories."

"But she tells everyone else about it. I'm like the only one in the school she won't talk to." Beth pouted as Shadow hopped up and trotted out of the room.

"Well you're not everyone else. You are Elizabeth Fabray. You're special." Quinn said tapping her daughter's nose. Beth scrunched her face and smiled in response before rolling over on her side. She held her head in her hand.

"What makes me any different from everyone else?"

"You're different because you're smarter, you're more cute, and you're you." Quinn leaned down and gave her daughter a quick peck on the forehead.

"I bet that's what all the parents say to their kids."

"Yea, but the only difference between me and them is that I'm actually telling the truth." They stared at each other before beth laughed and hopped up and hugged her mother.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Friday morning had come fast. The first week of school was nearly over. Beth had, had an amazing week so far and she was over the moon about her mom walking her to class today.

The brown haired girl held her mother's hand proudly as she maneuvered through the busy hallway. Quinn wished it could be like this forever. She wished her daughter would always be proud to hold her hand and lead her into her school house, but Quinn knew that one day Beth would be embarrassed just by her mere existence. She wasn't exactly looking forward to the teenage years.

"That is the nurse's office. We have to go there when we aren't feeling well." Beth was also giving her a little tour as they continued to navigate through the halls.

Quinn was half paying attention when a short brunette teacher came into view. She was surrounded by a group of kids who all looked super excited to see her... Beth no exception to this when Ms. Berry finally came into view.

Beth tugged at her mom excitedly as she basically ran through the crowd with her mother in tow. Quinn stumbled, not expecting the abrupt change in pace, but kept up with her daughter none the less. "Beth what has gotten into you?"

"Mommy, it's her... It's Ms. Berry. I want you to meet her." It was a little late for introductions, the blonde thought. But she didn't dare utter a word. She simply flashed her daughter a tight lipped smile and continued to let her lead the way.

The girl's long brown hair was neatly pulled back into a fishtail braid and it swayed from left to right as she walked. Quinn studied her daughter's movements. She could literally see how excited her daughter was as they walked to Rachel. A part of her hated that. Beth loved everyone, she was a people lover. Brittany was to be held responsible for that. But, this was a little different. Beth was literally glowing, and a small part of Quinn didn't want to see her daughter get that way, at least not over Rachel Berry.

There was the guilt again. She shouldn't have been the least bit upset that her daughter was happy to see Rachel. To Beth, she was a really cool teacher, who was on TV and played the character of a Disney Princess. Any five year old would go ballistic if they saw her. Quinn tried to rationalize in her head. Beth was being a normal starstruck kid. She didn't _really _like Ms. Berry.

They came to a slow stop right in front of the said brunette and Beth was literally bouncing on her toes as she smiled up and looked between her mother and Rachel. all the other kids seemingly stepped to the side. "Mom, this is Ms. Berry." She said motioning to the teacher. Quinn smiled down at her daughter and then put on a fake smile for Rachel. The blonde was a little taken aback when she met Rachel eyes. She hade to take another quick glance at her daughter, because looking into Beth's eyes was, literally, the equivalent to looking into Rachel's eyes, and vice versa.

Quinn always knew that Beth and Rachel looked alike. That was an obvious one. But she'd never had the chance to see them both in the flesh standing side by side... It was an experience.

"Ms. Berry, this is my mom..." She introduced them. "Her name is Lucy, but everybody just calls her Quinn." She stage whispered to Rachel, and the brunette smiled down proudly at her. "You can call her Quinn too."

"Beth, I can still hear you." Quinn mentioned and both brunettes in front of her let out a giggle.

"Nice to meet you Quinn." Rachel smiled and held out her hand. To outsiders looking it, it looked like a normal conversation, they looked like they were actually happy to meet each other for the first time.

But, both Quinn and Rachel knew better. Everything about this encounter was akward, it was forced. Everything accept for the little ball of energy that was standing in between them. Beth smiled in complete awe as her mom and Ms. Berry shook hands. To her that was a big deal. To her, that meant her mom would be friends with a movie star and then Ms. Berry would be able to go to her house and play. To her, that was everything.

"Beth, why don't you head on to class. I'm going to have a talk here with Ms. Berry." Quinn smiled down to her daughter, and there was the excitement again. Beth just couldn't believe her ears. She was over the moon about her mom talking to Ms. Berry. This had to be the coolest thing.

"Ok mom." The five year old beemed up at the blonde and held her arms out for a hug. Quinn kneeled down and gave her daughter meaningful squeeze before placing a kiss to the side of her head.

"I love you." She whispered, and beth pulled back and smiled. Then she turned to Ms. Berry. She stared at her for a moment before quickly wrapping her arms around the other brunette's waste.

For some reason, seeing that made Quinn a little nostalgic, and she had to turn her head. She didn't really think she was ready to see the two interact in such a way.

When Beth finally broke away from her teacher she waved goodbye and disappeared into the crowd of kids, leaving Quinn and Rachel standing there awkwardly.

"Should we go into my classroom? It's empty." Rachel offered, and Quinn could tell that the other woman was dreading this. She didn't want to talk with Quinn. She already knew what would be said. She already knew.

Quinn gave her a quick nod before Rachel led them the short distance to her room and closed the door behind them. The brunette sucked in a lung full of air and folded her arms. "So what did you want to talk about?" Rachel tried her hand at being casual.

"Don't act like you don't know what this is about." Clearly it didn't work. "Beth told me about your little library rendezvous." Quinn sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I thought I told you to stay away from her."

Rachel looked at her incredulously. "Quinn as unreasonable as that request is, I have been staying away from her. Or, at least I've been trying my best to."

"Obviously you hav-"

"Beth came to me." Rachel interrupted the blonde. "She came to me for the first time, after you removed her from my class, on Wednesday. She stood in the door frame playing with the hem of her shirt. She was supposed to be at lunch but she was in my class instead. I thought something was wrong so I asked her. Then she told me about her new puppy, Shadow, and asked me to help her learn more about dogs... Was I supposed to tell her no?" Rachel challeneged.

"Exactly." Quinn deadpanned. Of course Rachel wasn't supposed to tell the girl no. Quinn just didn't want Rachel to win. She didn't deserve to.

"You're being ridiculous." Rachel said while shaking her head.

"I've made it very clear that I don't want you around _my _daughter."

"_Our _daughter." Rachel said pointedly. "And she's made it very clear that she feels otherwise... Quinn I'm never going to tell my daughter no if she comes to me for help. I'll never turn her down." Rachel said softly. The brunette didn't really want to step on Quinn's toes, that's why she'd listened when the blonde told her to stay away from the five year old. But if the small child couldn't stay away from Rachel that was a different story. Rachel wasn't going to stop her, and she knew deep down that Quinn didn't have the heart to either.

Quinn gritted her teeth and let out a sigh. "Rachel, why are you here?" It was a question that needed to be asked. Surely the brunette wasn't here solely to reconnect with them. There had to be some other reason. Maybe she had a movie to film. Maybe she had interviews to attend. But there was no way, she was here for anything to do with the blonde and her baby.

Rachel looked a little surprised that Quinn would even ask such a thing. "Quinn, I'm here because I need to right my wrongs. You and Beth deserve to have me around. It's really the least I can do."

"Oh, you're so full of yourself." Quinn bit back. "What Beth and I deserved was for you to never have walked away from us in the first place."

"Quinn. I'm here now." Was all Rachel could offer. "I don't know how many times you need me to apologize for that. But just give me a number, and I'll start now. You can keep throwing that in my face, but it won't change history... And it won't change the fact that Beth knows I exist now, and not just on TV."

Quinn wanted to hold her ground. She wanted to blame Rachel for everything forever. But the smallest section of her brain told her she couldn't do that. Another smal part of her brain told her that she probably shouldn't be trying to rob her daughter of getting to know Rachel. Not Rachel, her other mother, but Rachel the cool teacher/actress. But those two sections were small, too small for Quinn to think twice about.

"So how long will it be this time before you're gone again?"

Rachel closed her eyes, and Quinn knew she was counting. Somethings never changed. "I'm not going to leave Quinn. I'm not leaving my daughter, I'm not leaving New York, and I'm... I'm not going to leave you, Quinn."

The blonde instantly felt like the walls were caving in on her. She'd thought Rachel soul purpose for even coming here was to try to reconnect and reconcile with Beth... not with her as well. Because, truthfully that ship had sailed, crashed, and burned a long time ago. "Rachel, Beth doesn't need you... and I don't need you."

Rachel held her head high, confidence used to be one of the things that attracted Quinn to her the most. "Be that as it may, but I'm not going anywhere. So you should get used to seeing my face."

Quinn didn't offer anything. She'd said her piece and Rachel had said it. Rachel didn't want to get her hopes up in thinking that their conversation was some sort of progress. But Quinn hadn't gone in and said that she can't see Beth during lunch time anymore as she expected. Quinn still let it be known that she wanted nothing to do with Rachel, and she didn't show any signs of putting Beth back into her class. So, she wouldn't consider it progress, but definitely a step towards progress. Or maybe she was just wishfully thinking.

The blonde brushed passed her and pushed on the door handle to exit the room. But Rachel felt like she needed to say more to Quinn. "She reminds me of you." The brunette blurted out, and Quinn stopped just before exiting the room.

The blonde turned to face Rachel with a look of condusion. "What?"

"Beth, she acts exactly the way you do. She's sweet, I suppose she got that part from Brittany." Rachel tries to joke, but it was obviously too soon to be lighthearted with Quinn. "Yea, and she talks about you all the time. You're like the center of her universe... I admire that. And even if I have to be on the sideline her entire life cheering her on, I wouldn't mind that. I just want to be a part of her life. You don't have to reply with a remark about how I voided my chance of doing so when I left. I already know, trust me, I know. That was the biggest mistake I could have ever made. The dumbest thing I could have ever done, and I regret it everyday. I'm not here because I want to upset you Quinn, but it would mean the world to me if you would just let me be a part of her life. Because, I could fight this, you know. I could try my hand in getting to know her without you ever even finding out. But, I just wouldn't feel right knowing that I didn't have your approval. Please Quinn, at least think about it." Rachel finished nervously.

Quinn eyed the brunette before shaking her head. She tried to think of some smart remark to say, but nothing fit the moment. She settled with snapping her mouth shut and doing a small pivot before exiting the classroom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So... what happens now?" Brittany asked as Cameron squirmed in her arms. Quinn had driven over to her sister's home right after she left the elementary school. She needed to speak with Brittany, her voice of reason. If anyone would be able to tell her the way to go about this situation the _right _way it would be her older sister.

"I don't know..." Quinn shrugged and starred at her careless nephew. He was currently on a mission to gnaw his fist off. The little fellow was at the age where everything looked delicious enough to eat.

"Well, what do you want to happen?"

Quinn shrugged again and scratched her head. "I kind of want Rachel to leave."

"Kind of?" Brittany asked trying to pull a straight answer out of her younger sister.

"Well yea. Sort of?" Quinn was starting to confuse herself a little. "Beth doesn't need her. If she hadn't showed up here Beth would have lived her life perfectly fine with me."

"Absolutely." Brittany said in agreement with Quinn, before pulling her son's fist out of his mouth in which his repsonse was to put his other fist in his mouth. She agreed with her sister, she did. Beth would have had a perfectly good life without Rachel. But Rachel was here now. What did that mean?

"I mean, who is she to just show up after five years unannounced. And she expects us to just welcome her back with open arms."

"Well, Beth has kind of opened her arms..." Brittany threw in and Quinn glared at her. "I'm just saying."

"Yea, well she made a mistake by coming here."

Brittany was silent for a moment as she studied her sister. She was at a loss for words right now. She was on her sister's side 100%, but she just couldn't shake the nagging feeling she had about Quinn trying to keep the two a part. She got it. Rachel left, Brittany was definitely there to pick up those pieces. A time she'll never forget. Rachel's departure affected way more people than just Quinn, that's for sure. But Brittany just didn't agree with keeping Beth away from her mother if she was actually trying to be there now.

"Quinn, let me ask you something." Hazel eyes met blue ones and Quinn listened intently. "So, this is completely hypothetical... So, let's say it was Rachel who got pregnant all those years ago by some sort of crazy act from god. And... it was you who left."

"But, I wouldn't have ever left her."

"Oh, yea, yea I know." Brittany said. "That's why this is a hypothetical situation... Yea, so you left and five years later you come back because you realized you made a mistake. Why it took you five years to realize that will be a mystery to everyone. But, never the less you're back. And you see your daughter for the first time. She's more beautiful than you could have ever imagined. And her face lights up when she sees you for the first time. Because you're Quinn Fabray. She doesn't know you're her mother, but you're somebody to her. She's seen you on TV before. But all you see is your little girl for the first time. Her smile, her eyes, her cute little personality. You see her."

Quinn listened on not knowing exactly where Brittany is going with this, but it was making her think. "And then, in walks Rachel. The mother who has been by that little girl's side since the beginning of her time, also the woman you were once madly in love with... She steps in between you two. She's the reason you don't get a second chance to get to know the little girl you missed out on. And don't get me wrong, Rachel has the right to revoke all of your privileges to get to know the girl. But is that necessarily right of her to do so?"

Quinn was silent. She could finally see where Brittany had taken this. Quinn was essentially keeping Beth from her other mother and Brittany didn't agree with that. Sure there was water under the bridge, five years worth to be exact, but robbing Beth of getting to know her mother would only hurt Quinn and daughter in the long run.

"I'm not saying this is going to be easy, letting Rachel back into our lives that is." Quinn didn't miss how her sister said 'our' and not 'your'. "But Quinn you have to start the forgiving process. I think we all should actually. She has a lot of making up to do to everyone... But she owes Beth the most. Don't rob your daughter of a parent who is actually here now."

Quinn wanted to argue with her sister, but she knew deep down that Brittany was right. She wouldn't forgive Rachel today, or tomorrow or the day after that... or maybe even a month from now. But Brittany gave her the hope that maybe she could one day forgive her. And that was something. It was better than the nonexsitent hope that she had started out with.

**Thanks for all the alerts! Any questions about their past will be answered in due time. **


	3. Chapter 3

**2009**

This moment was akward for Quinn. She felt weird. The blonde sat in a secluded corner in Starbucks on her day off. She tried to busy herself with the study materials she had brought, but she couldn't focus. She sat there twiddling her thumbs waiting for the woman to show. Quinn stared outside not exactly sure of who she was searching for.

Since her application had been accepted by the agency, she'd gotten a numerous amount of suitors. Five months had gone by and she'd sat through about three face to face meetings with possible clients, everyone else was automatically ruled out for one reason or the other. Quinn thought choosing a couple would be the easy part. But, it was proving to be quite stressful. She found that most of the couples that were interested in her had very specific requirements that they wanted to be met. Requirements like moving in with them, changing her diet to that of a vegan, and one couple even suggested she change her religion. All things that Quinn Fabray was not going to do.

And now she was meeting with her fourth prospect. She wasn't sure if she should have been expecting a couple to walk in or just one woman. The agency was kind of weird about this meeting. This time things seemed different. For all of her other meetings, any question that the blonde had the agency wouldn't hesitate to answer. She could almost find out anything she wanted to about clients who took interest in her. But this time wasn't exactly like that.

The only thing the blonde knew was that there was a woman named Barbra who was really interested in meeting her. The blonde thought that it was a little weird that, that was all the information she got. She overlooked the woman's request a few times before she began to investigate a little. Any time she asked and agent about the mysterious client she'd be talked into a circle, not finding out anything at all. The blonde was going to give up, but her curiosity got the better of her.

She hadn't met any prospects that she would accept and this client seemed to peek her interest, yet she didn't even know anything about her... or them. So she accepted the meeting, and now here she was. It was, Quinn looked down at her wrist watch to check the time, exactly forty-five minutes past their scheduled appointment time.

This was a bit ridiculous. Last time she'd checked these people, whoever they were, needed her. She didn't need them. So, why she'd sat there for that amount of time and waited that long was beyond her. She knew virtually nothing about this client and it was obvious that she wasn't going to show.

Quinn let out a sigh before she collected all of her work books and threw them into her bag. "Well this was a waste." Quinn mumbled as she finished off the remainder of her coffee. She threw her bag over her shoulder and tossed the empty cup in the trash.

"Do you think I could possibly have another coffee? I'm waiting on someone and I guess punctuality isn't their strong suit."

Quinn's ears perked up as she walked by the front counter. Her coworker, Chelsi, was ringing up a customer. Quinn couldn't see the woman's face mainly because she had a scarf wrapped fashionably around her head and dark shades on. The blonde let the idea roam around in her head that this could possibly be the mystery person.

She wasn't too keen on walking up to this stranger and flat out asking her... but what did she really have to lose? Quinn shrugged her shoulders and tapped the woman lightly on the shoulder.

The woman was jumpy. She flinched and turned around a bit too quickly. Quinn flashed her a hesitant smile. The woman had her hand over her chest as she breathed heavily. The blonde almost wanted to laugh at how over dramatic she was being.

"Can I help you with something?" The lady said, sounding a bit on edge.

"Um, actually I don't know." Quinn tilted her head to the side with a smile still in place. She actually kind of looked familiar to the blonde. With what little of the woman's face she could actually see that is. "Maybe you can...? I overheard you saying that you were waiting on someone, and so am I... I just thought that maybe there was a possibility that we're actually waiting on each other?" The blonde felt stupid. Really the woman could've been waiting on anyone.

Quinn couldn't see the lady's facial expression, not between the oversized sunglasses and the scarf, but she could tell the woman's features had softened. "Quinn Fabray?" She asked.

The blonde smiled and nodded her head. Good thing this was actually the right person. "Barbra?" The woman smiled and nodded her head while extending her hand. The blonde smiled back and took her hand.

Once they dropped the handshake, the mystery woman turned back to face the girl at the front counter. "Actually, I won't be needing that coffee." Quinn furrowed her eyebrows. The woman actually sounded familiar as well.

Chelsi smiled and nodded as they stepped out of line. Quinn followed as the woman led them back to the secluded corner. "Would it be weird if I asked to go a somewhere a little more private?" She asked, and the blonde couldn't help but take a small step back.

"Uh, yea... actually that would be very weird."

"Listen, I know you don't know much about me and... there's a reason for that. But, if we could just get to someplace where there aren't as many people, you'll understand why."

Quinn shook her head, adament on not going anywhere alone with the stranger. She didn't know this woman. For all she knew she, was trying to get her alone and as far away from people so that no one could hear her screams. "I'd feel much more comfortable if we talked here." The blonde said taking a seat at a table nearby.

The woman stood still and watched the blonde as she moved. "I can't stay here." There was a hint of desperation in her voice, and Quinn could already tell that this wasn't the person she was going to do this for. Yet, another prospect that had failed.

"Listen, Barbra... If you can't talk to me here, in the open, then we won't be having a conversation. I'm sorry, but I don't know you well enough to walk off somewhere with you."

The woman let out an exasperated sigh before looking to her left and then to her right very suspiciously. She brought her index finger over her lips performing a silence gesture to tell the blonde to be quiet.

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows and stared on with a confused expression at the odd woman sitting in front of her. "But, I didn't say anything."

When Barbra felt it was safe, she dropped her sunglasses and pulled back her scarf slightly. Brown hair came cascading down over her shoulders and Quinn was struck speechless. But the woman was quick to cover herself back up. The blonde stared at her with both her eyes and and her mouth agape. "Oh. My. God... Y-you're-"

"Please, don't say it." The woman said shaking her head. "I'm Barbra."

Quinn was still in a state of shock and awe as she felt excitement course through her blood. "No! You're Rachel Berry." She shrieked and Rachel flung her tiny body across the table to hurridly cover the blonde's mouth. Quinn's eyes were wide as she sat completely still. She was absolutely stunned that she was in the prescence of a celebrity. No wonder the agency wouldn't release any information to her.

Rachel still had her hand over the blonde's mouth as she looked around at the few people in the coffee shop that were now flashing them confused looks. She looked back to Quinn and gave her best pleading eyes behind her sunglasses. As if the blonde could even see. "I am _begging _you... please let's have this conversation in a little more private setting." Quinn didn't offer a reply she simply stared wide eyed at the superstar. "Please, just nod your head. I won't uncover your mouth until you do." The blonde absentmindedly nodded her head up and down in agreement. Rachel flashed her a wide smile before it dropped. "Okay, now I'm going to take my hand from over your mouth. You have to promise me that you won't scream my name or give off any clue as to who I am." The blonded nodded again. "Okay... I'm trusting you."

Rachel slowly lowered her hand and hovered over the table for a little while, just in case she needed to quickly cover the blonde's mouth once more. Once she felt safe enough she fell back into her seat. Quinn only blinked a few times an watched the woman in sheer amazement. "So we're going to go now?" Rachel threw her thumb over her shoulder, pointing in the direction of the door.

Quinn could only follow the woman dumbly as she stood up and Rachel took her hand quickly leading her out. The blonde felt excitment course through her veins. She was going to have a baby for a celebrity, because this was her match hands down. She _would _indeed have Rachel Berry's baby.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Present**

Quinn held her daughter's hand as they walked into the dance hall. Beth had been put in dance classes when she turned four, a little over a year ago. Dance recitals weren't a new thing. But this one was the first of the year. The 'Back to School Ballet.'

"Honey are you okay?" The blonde asked her daughter. Beth seemed antsy, a little more than usual when it came to something like this. The girl didn't know what nervous or stage freight meant. Beth was so out of it though. She didn't even hear her mother's question. The girl just kept nervously looking around. "Hey, hey?" Quinn kneeled down to her daughter's level effectively making her look her in the eyes. "What's wrong baby?"

Beth merely shrugged her shoulders and looked away. It pained Quinn beyond measures to see that there was obviously something bothering her child that she didn't want to tell her about. She let out a sigh and brushed a few fly away stands from Beth's bun behind the girl's ear. "You can't hide yourself from me." Quinn muttered as she looked into big brown eyes. She felt something pull at her heart strings. Beth just really looked like someone else in that moment.

"I'm not hiding mom." She said softly with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. That seemed familiar to Quinn as well. The blonde needed to pull herself together, because if not she was going to cry right in the middle of the dance hall. How embarrassing would that be for her daughter?

"N-no, it's just something that... Someone used to say to me, when I was sad."

"I'm not sad though."

"Yea, I know, but you can also say it when when you know something is wrong with a person, and they pretend that it's nothing." She smiled at her babygirl.

"I get it." Beth said before she bit her bottom lip. "Nothing is wrong... I guess, I'm just looking for somebody."

Quinn studied her daughter's eyes only to see that the girl was being sincere. "Okay, well who are we looking for? A friend of yours?"

Beth smiled and pulled at her leotard. "Something like that, but I don't think they'll show up."

"And why do you think that?"

"I don't know. I invited them out to go to the park with us last week, and to go skating when I was with Auntie Brittany and Aunt Tana, and they never showed up. So why would they start now?"

"Well, who exactly are _they_?"

Beth shrugged her shoulders once more. "It doesn't matter." Quinn knew that look, it was disappointment. She couldn't stand to see that look on her daughter's face.

"Okay, if you say they don't matter then, they don't matter." Beth pulled at her leotard once more. She looked funny, Quinn couldn't help but smile. "Beth why do you keep pulling that thing?"

Beth laughed and shook her head. "It keeps giving me a wedgy." She giggled, and Quinn followed suit.

"Don't say that loud enough for the other parents to hear. They might think that we're weird." She joked.

"Well, you kind of are mom... But I'm not."

Quinn let out a gasped and faked offense as she rose to her feet. "I'm actually the normal one. You're weird."

"No I'm not you are."

"No you." She teased.

"No you."

"Okay, you win... I'm weird." She said as she pushed the doors open to the auditorium. It was nearly filled and all the little dancers were already on the stage stretching and doing warm up moves. "So, go up there and do great." Quinn said. "I'll be back here dancing along and doing my best to embarrass you okay?"

Beth face palmed and rubbed her hand down her tiny features. "Please don't do that mom."

Quinn laughed. "I'm only kidding. Now, get up there. I'll be cheering you on."

The girl reached her arms out and Quinn leaned down to embrace her. "I love you mommy."

"I love you too sweety." She kissed the side of her head before letting her go. She watched as the girl bounced onto the stage and greeted her fellow dancers. She looked so natural as she smiled and talked amongst the other little girls. Quinn was proud, for no other reason except for the fact that she had an amazing little girl that she could proudly show off to any and everyone for as long as she lived.

Soon the lights dimmed and the little dancers fell into place as the music began to figured it'd be useless to try and look for a seat, the place was pretty packed. So she leaned up against the wall and folded her arms.

The first dance was kind of slow. Was Quinn a bad mom for thinking that it was a little boring? The girls prance around the stage and the blonde couldn't help but think how her daughter seemed a little more graceful than everyone else. She executed each move right on point.

She wanted to lean over and whisper 'that's my daughter' to the lady next to her. But she refrained because the woman probably didn't care. Quinn glanced over to a few people in the far corner that were trying to find a seat before she focused her attention back on the stage.

She furrowed her eyebrows before looking back to the people in the corner. Her focus wasn't on the people that were getting up and sitting down. It was on a brunette that sat in the row behind them. Was that Rachel Berry?

The short woman sat, leaning forward in her seat as she paid close attention to the stage. She had a smile on her face with her hands clasped together. She was obviously looking at Beth. Quinn let her arms drop and she stood straight up. What the hell was she doing here?

Quinn felt anger flare up in her veins as she stared at the woman who was totally oblivious to the blonde's angry blonde huffed before turning her attention back to the stage. But she'd found herself staring back at the brunette not much long after that.

She folded her arms and let her head fall back against the wall. How did she even know Beth's recital was today? The longer she stared at the brunette the less anger she felt. She'd been holding on for years. To what exactly she was unsure of, but it left her with a lot of anger in her heart. Anger that she couldn't quite express because she was thrown into motherhood, a motherhood that she wasn't exactly ready for. Maybe it was time to let that anger go. It was clear that Rachel wasn't going anywhere. God, she was starting to sound like Brittany.

The blonde nearly jumped out of her skin when the crowd erupted in applause. Quinn hurried to look at the stage to see the girls taking a bow. Had she been staring at Rachel for the entire first performance?

Everyone quieted down as the song changed and the girls began to dance again. Quinn wouldn't miss this one. She wouldn't take her eyes off of her daughter. She stuck with that for about two minutes before she was back to staring at Rachel again. She didn't know why, Rachel wasn't even that interesting. She was just sitting there with a twinkle in her eyes and a smile on her face. She actually looked like a proud... mother.

The blonde sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and dropped her gaze. Rachel looked like a proud mother... Technically that's exactly what she was. She felt a sting in her chest. Since when did she become this emotional?

She toyed with the ring on her right finger before Beth's words began to echoe in her head. "_I guess I'm just looking for somebody." _Quinn remebered her daughter saying. Was Rachel...? How else would she had known the girl had a recital today. How would she have known that Beth even took dance lessons. She remembered the disappointed look on her child's face. Of course, it had to be Rachel she was looking for.

Quinn face palmed and let out a sigh. She knew things couldn't continue to like this. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Be careful guys." Santana called out to the two children playing on the playground amongst the other kids. She held Cameron in her arms and rocked him back and forth. "So what's up Q?"

Quinn stared at the kids playing and shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing really."

"I'm calling bullshit... What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. What makes you think something is wrong with me?" She asked defensively.

"Uh, maybe because you've been walking around for the last few days looking like you have a stick up your ass... But not like you're angry, you know? More like a stick up your ass that's hurting you. You get what I'm saying?"

She narrowed her eyes at her and shook my head from left to right. "Actually no. I don't get what you're saying... And does Brittany let you talk like that around the kids?"

"Uh... no why do you think I'm doing it around you? Anyways start talking or I'll make you change Cam's diaper."

"Santana is that even a threat?"

"Uh you don't want to mess with this kid. He's lethal. Now go on."

The blonde let out a sigh before gripping at the bottom of the bench. "It's Rachel."

"I knew it. I fucking knew it-"

"Santana! Language." Quinn chastised and she just waved me off with a flick of her hand.

"I figured she came back to stir the pot, but I didn't want to ask you about it. Because it's a sensative topic, duh... Do you want me to cut her? Do I need to intervene?" She asked sincerely as she switched Cameron to her other arm.

The look on Quinn's face... it was priceless. Santana couldn't help but laugh. "Santana! No! I can't believe that you would even suggest..."

"Calm down blondie. It was a joke. Normal people laugh at jokes. See ha ha ha... To lighten up the moment a little, I guess?"

"Well, that didn't help." Quinn huffed.

"Uh oh, this must be serious... Come on Q, talk to me."

Quinn watched Jonah run after a little red headed girl, then she shifted her gaze to Beth who was swinging on the swing set. "Do you think that I should let Rachel into Beth's life? Do you think she deserves it?"

The blonde could hear the brunette suck in a deep breath. "Oh... this is serious. Um, Q... I don't know what to say."

"Yea, me either." She said with a heavy sigh.

A brief silence overtook them. Both still thinking about the lingering question. In the back of Quinn's mind, she knew she'd eventually have to give. She couldn't keep fighting Rachel forever. Not when Beth was now becoming invested in her. It wasn't a matter of 'if' it was more of 'when'.

"I think she deserves it..." Santana shrugged.

"What? You do?" The surprise in her voice was evident.

"Quinn I'm merely an outsider looking in. Granted I was there the entire time, but it wasn't my situation, she never left me. But, if I put myself and Brittany in your shoes, and Brittany had left me, I'd give her the chance to know her children. You probably think I'm just talking shit because Brittany and I are happily married and nothing like this has ever happened to us. But, I would, I'd give her that chance. I'd probably hate her for a minute, not going to lie, and it'd probably be the hardest thing I'd ever have to do. But I'd do it. And I know she'd give me the same chance as well, if the roles were reversed."

Quinn stared at the ground the entire time. She slowly began to nod her head as she heard Santana's words. "She would... She'd give you that chance."

"You just have to put your child before your insecurities, where she belongs." Santana nodded.

Santana was right. Quinn couldn't help but think of how much she reminded her of her sister in that moment. "I think you and Brittany are spending too much time together... It's like you guys share the same brain." They both shared a laugh. The blonde used to wander how two people could be so in sync with each other. She used to want that for herself.

"We're the same person."

"No, you're both so different from each other... Yet, the similarities are uncanny."

"Whoa... that was deep... I'm going to use that, like on our date night or something. Speaking of which, you have the kids this weekend right?"

"Yup." She said popping the _p_.

"Okay... So are you going to take my advice? I already know your sister has talked to you as well..." Quinn shrugged. She knew she would, she just didn't know when she would. "We can't make you do anything... But maybe you should ask Beth. I mean her opinion is the one that really counts."

Quinn scoffed. "And what am I supposed to say? Hey Beth, Rachel is actually your other mother, she left just a little before you were born, and now she's back. Want to give her a chance?"

"Don't be sarcastic with me... Just ask her what she thinks of Rachel."

"No..."

Santana stared at her, she really looked at her. Quinn hated it when she did that. She felt like there were just some people she couldn't hide from because they'd always be able see right through her. "What are you so afraid of?"

She thought about lying, she did. But she also thought about how Santana wouldn't believe it and she'd make her tell the truth somehow. "What if I lose Beth to her... She can do it you know." Unshed tears were on the brim of spilling.

"She wouldn't though. Rachel knows she'd have the holy rath of hell to pay if she ever came close to even thinking about somthing crazy like that. Besides Quinn, I'm a lawyer, you're a lawyer. You're nowhere near as good as me, but a lawyer nonetheless..." The blonde wiped away a few stray tears and laughed. "I'm only kidding. But you shouldn't be thinking like that, It's been what? Two and a half weeks?"

"Yea, but Santana I don't know why she's here. What if she is here to take our daughter. Beth is hers too."

"Yea, I know... But maybe you should just find out why she's here instead of guessing. I mean have you asked her?"

"Yes..."

"And?"

"She said that she made a mistake by leaving."

"Well, she did. And this may be a crazy thing to think, but what if she's actually here for the same reason she said she's here for?"

She hated Santana. She didn't know why her sister ever married her... Except she didn't hate the brunette and she knew exactly why Brittany married her. "Shut up." Quinn huffed.

"No, you shut up! Maybe if you take the time out to actually sit down and talk to her, you know take turns speaking, she might actually make you believe it."

Yea, well maybe she already did believe it... She just didn't realize it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quinn looked in her rearview mirror at her daughter. She was humming along to _Let It Go _from the Frozen soundtrack that Quinn had playing on the radio. She smiled at the girl and Beth caught sight of her and waved at the mirror. She glanced to the road before waving back.

"Hi mom."

"Hi baby."

"Can I ask you something?" Queen Elsa clearly was forgotten in the background.

"You sure can."

"Are famous people mean?"

The blonde furrowed her eyebrows as she made a left turn at the light. "Um, I don't know... I've only ever met one famous person in my lifetime and she wasn't mean..."

Beth dropped her gaze and nodded her head. "Okay... I believe you."

"What's with the long face kiddo?"

"Famous people are mean, mom, I don't like them. Any of them."

"What makes you say that?"

"Ms. Berry! Mom, it's not fair." Quinn flinched a little. Beth caught her off guard with the sudden change in emotion. "I hate her..." She folded her arms turned her head to look out of the window. Quinn had both eyebrows raised in shock. She'd never heard her daughter speak like that before.

"Hey. Beth, look at me." Quinn said with her focus between the road and the rearview mirror so that she could see her daughter. When Beth finally met her gaze she felt something in the pit of her stomach. "I don't want to ever hear you use that word again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes..." She said with watery eyes.

"Why the sudden change of heart about Ms. Berry?"

"She doesn't like me mom..." Beth sniffled. "She likes everyone else at school except me." Quinn knew for a fact that, that wasn't true.

"Why do you say that sweetie?"

"Because she talks to them about everything! She tells them stories. But she doesn't tell me anything, she didn't even come to my recital... She wasn't there." Beth said softly before tears came spilling out of her eyes.

By then Quinn had made it to the school. She pulled into a parking spot and killed the engine. "Beth, I'm sorry." It was the first thing she could think to say. She owed her daughter that apology, because Rachel was there. She was, but she couldn't tell Beth that. Rachel didn't make her presence known for a reason. A reason that Quinn knew to be herself.

"It's not your fault." Beth said softly. But it was. It was her fault that Rachel wouldn't talk to her like she wanted to, it was her fault Rachel _wasn't at the dance recital, _and it was her fault that her daughter was sitting in the backseat crying. It was all her fault. Rachel was the one that messed up and now she was back. All this time Quinn had been trying to protect her daughter from the brunette because she was afraid that Beth would get hurt by her. But Quinn was the one hurting the small child. She was, not Rachel.

"Yes it is..." She mumbled not loud enough for the girl to hear. She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out to open the back door. Beth stepped out and looked up at her mother. Quinn looked at her daughter's slightly puffy eyes and wiped the remainder of her tears away. Yea, this was her fault. "You don't worry about Ms. Berry. Something tells me that she'll come around, and she'll tell you all the stories you want to hear." Quinn said taking her hand and leading her into the school.

"How do you know that?"

"Because, I'm a mom... I know these things." Beth looked up to Quinn with question in her eyes. "What kid?"

"When I'm a mom, will I know these things too." Quinn nearly choked on her spit. Now that was something she really couldn't handle right now. She needed to conquer one battle at a time.

"Uh, sure... But you're not going to be a mom for a very... _very _long time Beth. I need you to understand that." Beth only nodded her head with a smile. Quinn shook her head and gave her daughter's hand a squeeze as they walked through the doors of the school. As usual the hallways were filled with kids and their oversized backpacks. Class would start shortly and Quinn needed to find Rachel. It wasn't hard though, she just looked for the teacher that was surrounded by a group of kids... that were almost the same height as her.

Quinn walked up to her with Beth in tow. "Excuse us." Quinn said politely to all the children standing around Ms. Berry. Rachel met her gaze and Quinn could see the question in her eyes. She always looked so confused every time she saw the blonde now. As if she was wondering what she did to receive a visit from her.

The blonde only tilted her head, not so subtly, at their unhappy daughter. Rachel glanced down to Beth who would not for the life of her meet her gaze. "Good morning Beth." Rachel smiled, but the child only turned to Quinn.

"I'm going to go to class now... I'll see you after school." Beth was lost in the sea of students not long after that.

Quinn looked back to Rachel who was still looking in the direction that Beth had just left. She had her eyebrows furrowed and her bottom lip stuck in between her teeth. The blonde let out a sigh and motioned towards Rachel's classroom door. "Shall we?"

When Rachel met Quinn's gaze she looked she just looked tired. Rachel gave a slight nod and led the way to her class.

"Why are you here Quinn?" Rachel asked as soon as they were inside.

The blonde closed the door behind them. "Rachel,I'm here to say thank you... and to apologize. I'm waving my little white flag." She waved her imaginary flag in the air.

"W-what? Why?" She seemed so surpised. Quinn almost wanted to laugh at how comical her expression was. But this wasn't really a laughing matter.

"I saw you at Beth's recital the other night..."

Rachel gave a small gasp and regret filled her features. "Quinn, I'm so sorry. I promise I wasn't going to go, but she asked. And you know I can't tell her no... And how could I not go... It was my idea to put her in dance lessons... Well it was obviously your decision, but-"

"Okay, Rachel just stop talking." Quinn didn't miss that about the woman. "It was your idea, and I based my decision off of that." The blonde nodded and Rachel couldn't hold back her smile. "Um, and I wanted to actually thank you for showing up. I know why you didn't tell Beth you were there, but I wish you had have anyway." Quinn remembered Beth crying in the backseat and saying that she hated Rachel. "Thank you for taking me into consideration."

"Quinn, I'll always take you into consideration."

Quinn scoffed. You didn't think about taking me into consideration when you left. It was right on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to point the accusing finger at her again, but it would get them nowhere. Going in circles was never fun anyway. "Yea... and I just need to apologize for trying to keep you away from her. I realize that by doing that I'm hurting everyone... and Beth the most... So, you have free reign. She's your daughter too." Quinn shrugged her shoulders.

She missed the way Rachel smiled at her the one she used to swoon over before everything got complicated. "Quinn, I-I don't know what to say... Thank you!"

"Don't thank me Rachel... Just don't hurt her. Because if you do... you'll have me deal with."

"I promise I'll never hurt her."

Quinn smiled with her gaze fixed on the floor. "Don't make promises you can't keep. Just give me your word that you'll never intentionally hurt her."

"You have my word." Rachel stated sincerely.

"That's good enough for the time being." Quinn let out a sigh. That was a lot easier than she thought it would be.

"So, is Beth upset with me? What was that out in the hall?"

"Oh yea, she's pretty pissed at you." Rachel flashed her the puppy dog eyes, and Quinn had to look away. "She's angry because you weren't at her recital. My fault, so I'll fix it. Don't worry about it. She'll come around."

"Thank you..." There was a weird silence between them. Quinn wanted to leave, but she felt like staying a little longer. "D-do you think maybe you and I could sit down one day and you could tell me all about her?"

Quinn thought about it. She actually took it into consideration. "No, it's too soon. Why not learn everything about the source from the source itself? Just let Beth show you who she is, she's good at opening up to people."

Rachel gave a curt nod and clasped her hands behind her back. "Okay."

"Well, I'm going to go." Quinn said throwing her thumb over her shoulder.

"Okay, it was nice talking to you."

Actually it wasn't all that bad. "Yea." Quinn said as she made her way to the door. "And just a fair warning... You're going to fall in love with her... Just don't fall too fast." The blonde said before she left completely.

Rachel stood smiling in the middle of the room. She felt a sense of pride. "I already have." She said into the empty room. "I already have."

XXXXXXXXXX

**#Fabethry**


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